OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE 2015 - Alternative Mining Indabaaltminingindaba.co.za/.../2015/11/AMI-2015-Final-Report.pdf · 5 OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE 2015 ALTERNATIVE MINING INDABA DAY TWO

OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE

2015 ALTERNATIVE

MINING INDABA

“MAKING NATURAL RESOURCES WORK FOR THE PEOPLE”

ORGANISED BY

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OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE 2015 ALTERNATIVE MINING INDABA

Summary The Alternative Mining Indaba (AMI) is an international platform for civil society organizations, National Christian Councils, inter-faith groups, academics, mining-affected communities and the media, formed in 2010. The AMI’s intention is to provide mining affected communities with a platform to share their experiences and mobilize to fight for their rights. Over the years the AMI has also become a platform to strengthen advocacy work and develop strategic tools to address challenges faced by the sector.

In February 2015 the 6th AMI was held in Cape Town South Africa under the banner ‘Making Natural Resources work for the People’. Over 272 delegates from 37 countries met at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel from the 9th to the 12th of February 2015 on the sidelines of the Africa Mining Indaba.

The objectives of AMI 2015: � Facilitate the exchange of experiences on the gains achieved in communities’ advocacy and lobbying efforts;

� Follow up developments related to the Marikana Massacre and the five-month platinum mine strike;

� Share advocacy strategies for effective social activism;

� Engage around mining and its wider social impacts, especially social protection, gender and labour issues, amongst others;

� Share impacts of the national AMI held in 2014 - the lessons, challenges and achievements of partners;

� Discuss practical steps to stem the financial hemorrhage of mining revenues from sector;

� Review attempts being made to domesticate the Africa Mining Vision and bolster and encourage adoption of the SADC Protocol on Mining.

Although Africa is richly endowed with natural resource, its people do not benefit from these resources. It is against this background that the theme:

“MAKING NATURAL RESOURCES WORK FOR THE PEOPLE”,adopted for the 6th Alternative Mining Indaba

It was noted that in terms of mineral resources alone: � Africa hosts about 30% of the planet’s mineral reserves, including 40% of gold, 60% cobalt and 90% of the world’s platinum

group metals (PGM) reserves - making it a truly strategic producer of these precious metals.

� South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) dominate the African mining industry, whilst countries such as Angola, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Zambia and Botswana rely heavily on the mining industry as a major foreign currency earner.

� The mineral industry is one of the largest foreign income earners in Africa

� South Africa’s total mineral reserves are estimated at $2.5 trillion, with the mining sector contributing 18% of GDP and over 50% in foreign exchange earnings. The sector brings in an annual income exceeding R330 billion and accounts for 20% of all investment in the country.

� Tanzania is the World’s third largest producer of gold and the mining sector makes up 90% of the country’s exports.

ORGANISED BY

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Given this context, the Alternative Mining Indaba has, since its inception six years ago, advocated for equity and justice in the way in which the benefits of these mining resources are shared, as well as calling for good governance, transparency and accountability in the sector. True justice lies in these natural resources working for all of our people.

The programme for AMI 2015 was structured over three and a half days with 3 keynote addresses, plenaries, panel discussions and thematic breakaway sessions on specific policy topics identified through the National Mining Indabas. There were also several side events that took place at the end of each day’s deliberations.

The breakaway sessions covered were: 1. Environmental issues and community monitoring; 2. Small scale/artisanal mining and land; 3. Extractive industries and women; 4. Mining, health and labour; 5. Mining revenue governance: taxation and illicit financial flows; 6. Initiatives promoting transparency and accountability; 7. Access to remedy: litigation and mining communities.

The side events covered topics that included the following: 1. Mining; 2. Tax justice; 3. Publish What You Pay and broad transparency issues;4. The Impact of Mining on Women; 5. Mining Communities.

At the end of three and a half days of deliberations, the Alternative Mining Indaba 2015 delegates came up with a declaration calling for principled, just and effective regulation of the extractive and related industries, for natural resources to benefit more people more widely, for companies to act according to ethical and legal standards and for African governments to make citizen-centred decisions about the investment of natural resources.

The declaration of demands was presented to a group of mining companies that were present at a dialogue between 25 Alternative Mining Indaba delegates and 25 Africa Mining Indaba delegates on Thursday, 12th February 2015.

Delegates to the 6th Alternative Mining Indaba

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Global representation at the 6th Alternative Mining Indaba

Registered delegates: 272 , from 32 countries

30published articles

7 itemsof live coverage on television

10 radio interviews

CORRUPTION WATCHCONNECTED PLATFORMInteractive Online Legal Clinic

PHOTOGRAPHS

SESSION DISCUSSIONS documented on video

RSA; 116

Senegal; 3

Sweden; 2Swaziland; 1Tanzania; 2

UK; 6

USA; 8

Uganda; 4

Zambia; 22

Zimbabwe; 17

Colombia; 2

France; 2

Ghana; 2

Lesotho; 1Kenya; 10

Malawi; 6

Mozambique; 10

Nigeria; 3

Norway; 3

(blank); 0

Madagascar; 2Belgium; 1 Brazil; 1

Ethiopia; 4Angola; 6

Australia; 1Botswana; 7

Cameron; 2

Canada; 1

DRC; 5

Pakistan; 1Guinea; 1Cote d’lvoire; 1

2015 AMI Attendees by country

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Overview of the 6th Alternative Mining Indaba DAY ONE The first day of the conference began with the Executive Director of Economic Justice Network, the Secretariat of the AMI, Reverend Malcolm Damon, providing statistics on Africa’s mineral endowments. He noted that although, the Alternative Mining Indaba had made a significant contribution to the betterment of mining-affected communities since its inception six years ago, the battle was uphill.

This battle is symbolised by the difference in scale of the two Mining Indabas. The Africa Mining Indaba is attended by 7000 delegates, representing 2100 companies from all over the world. In comparison, the Alternative Mining Indaba, though it had grown exponentially since its inception six years ago, has over 250 delegates representing the voices of the communities affected by mining.

Damon’s opening address was followed by keynote addresses from Brian Kagoro, a former UNDP African Governance and Public Administration programme adviser, human rights activist and constitutional lawyer and Matthews Hlabane a community representative from Southern Africa Green Revolution.

Brian Kagoro, the first keynote speaker, noted the increased militancy from communities as their demands for a share in the myriad of resources in their localities are met by resistance from multinational mining corporations.

Kagoro said that labour and communities may sideline civil society organisations when mounting their assaults against mining companies and governments. He warned that if civil society is not careful labour and communities may see CSOs as becoming the third side of a coin that comprises the private sector and government.

Matthews Hlabane the community representative keynote speaker highlighted the fact that communities are not anti-development but are against development that they do not understand.

Country representatives from the seven countries that held national mining indabas in 2014 were given an opportunity to share reports from their national mining indabas with the AMI delegates.

Meschak Mbangula, national chairperson of the South Africa Chapter of Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) stated: “Our governments are not serving our interests. When we try and protest against the injustices of the mining companies, the police are sent to arrest and kill us.” He said people in mining communities die every day either from ill health due to poisoned water, polluted air or from state terrorism.

The representative from Botswana read out their declaration of demands and informed delegates that their national indaba had grown from 70 participants in 2013 to 200 participants in 2014.

The remaining country reports were postponed to Day 2 as the delegates participated in the AMI March to the Africa Mining Indaba at the Cape Town Conventional Centre which for the first time in the history of the Alternative Mining Indaba was held on the first day of the conference instead of the last day. This ensured the attention of the delegates at the Africa Mining Indaba and of the media covering both Indabas.

The afternoon session was dedicated to training communities and civil society organization in Participatory Monitoring, hosted by Oxfam US, and Tax Justice training provided by Tax Justice Network Africa.

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DAY TWO The second day of the conference was made up of two panel discussions on extraction: on current trends and on mining health and the environment. These were followed by discussions that enabled the delegates to get a better understanding of the technicalities of mining and what was being done in the sector.

The delegates then participated in four Policy theme sessions - small scale mining and land, extractives industry and women, mining health and labour and environmental issues and community monitoring.

These breakaway sessions allowed the delegates to engage with specific issues of concern and receive policy advice. The delegates also drafted demands in their chosen thematic sessions.

Before all the scheduled activities for Day 2 began, the outstanding country reports from Day 1 were presented by the national chapters. These reports provided evidence that the initiative is developing strong roots. More countries have established national chapters and are making real progress on the ground. Others are trying to find their feet and were seeking the support and solidarity of fellow organizations at the Indaba.

Highlights of the country reports are presented below.

Zambia In Zambia, the national AMI held in June last year was attended by 200 delegates, an increase from 79 the previous year. The growth was not only quantitative, but also qualitative as a diversity of interest groups, not just the faith-based organisations, have joined the forum. This includes the country’s three major mining companies. The major thrust of the Zambian Indaba is to provide a platform for communities affected by mining activities to dialogue with the companies and government.

Felix Ngosa summarized the main issues affecting the Zambian communities as compensation for those displaced or otherwise affected by mining activities; environmental degradation; taxation structures benefitting the country rather than corporations; and plugging illicit financial flows. The Zambian communities are upbeat as they have succeeded in getting one mining company to cut down on its sulphur dioxide emissions.

Zimbabwe Similar stories of success by communities were reported by the Zimbabwean delegation. While the issues that dog the country’s mining industry were similar to those that affected Zambia and other countries, opacity surrounding mining activities was reportedly higher. Nonetheless, the communities continue to demand for transparency.

“The communities are demanding their rights in an amazing way. You need to come to Zimbabwe to witness this for yourselves. They are no longer taking nonsense from them (Mining companies and government),” the Zimbabwean representative told the conference.

A significant victory for the communities of Zimbabwe was the realisation of Community Share Ownership Trusts, where mining communities are automatically entitled to a 10% share in the mine/s and a similar percentage of the dividends thereof.

The Zimbabwean chapter of the AMI had not only grown in terms of the participation, but the country now has provincial indabas in the three main mining provinces of Manicaland (diamonds and gold), Midlands (gold, chrome and a diversity of other minerals) and Matebeleland (gold, coal and other minerals).

Mozambique In Malawi and Mozambique the forums for engaging government and the private sector are comparatively smaller but growing steadily. Mozambique lags behind other countries in terms of the rights of communities and labour.

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The Mozambican representative spoke of the brutal assault by the state as communities displaced by mineral and others resource extraction sought fair compensation. The Tete Province, the hub of Mozambique’s extraction activities following the discovery of gas and other fossil fuels, is the most affected.

Colombia The tales of woe in the extraction industries are not the preserve of the African continent alone. In Latin America, the fight for resources is further complicated and dangerous due to radicalization through armed conflict. A representative from Colombia said such conflicts had existed in Latin America for nearly half a century.

“Armed groups have strong connections to mining and there are killings and human rights violations on a large scale,” he pointed out. This had escalated due to the increase in international companies seeking to mine in Colombia since the 90s. Millions of people had been displaced as vast tracts of land are designated for mining activities. A Colombian delegate whose organization represents about 5000 displaced persons stated their concerns about the destruction of the social and cultural fabric caused by mining.

DAY THREE Day 3 kicked off with a panel discussion on illicit financial outflows from mining activities, one of the most important issues related to mining activities on the African continent and in developing countries as a whole.

The narrative that Africa received far less than it gave to industrialized nations has been in the public domain for decades. However, it was the extent of these outflows and the nature of this exploitation that were highlighted at the AMI.

Professor Adejumobi, who provided technical support to the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, noted that Africa was estimated to have lost US$3 trillion over the past two decades alone. The panel’s report on the activities of multinational corporations in Africa was released a fortnight before AMI 2015.

The findings corroborated what the Alternative Mining Indaba has been flagging for the world’s attention since its inception six years ago - the financial hemorrhaging of African countries incurred through the tax evasion and avoidance by international mining companies. Large international auditing and accounting firms also play a role in aiding these companies.

During the question time that followed the presentation, some participants demanded to know why the High Level Panel did not name the five major international accounting firms that ‘cook the books’ for transnational corporations. Since last year delegates to the AMI had been campaigning for the naming and shaming of perpetrator mining companies and their associates.

Amjad Rihan, who participated in the panel via a video stream, left a major accounting firm after it refused to publish the financial irregularities of a gold refining company in Dubai that was colluding with companies mining the gold in Morocco.

Rihan had no qualms about quitting. But, as other panelists pointed out, there is complicity by many actors, particularly those who are supposed to monitor and bring attention to malpractices, especially those in government. Many government officials and policy makers in Africa have become part of the problem, as they themselves own mines.

Panelist Dr Olla Bello advocated for the building of stronger coalitions that comprised government, private sector and civil society to stem financial outflows. Dr Bello stressed stemming outflows would not necessarily be easy as most such activities, though immoral, were almost always legal.

As the multinational corporations are always several steps ahead of governments, civil society needs to work hand in hand with their governments, form strong global coalitions and mobilize resources.

Despite the challenges platforms such as the AMI might experience in the fight against international capital, Tony Hodge (President of the ICMM) encouraged us not to relent and to continue to put pressure on the giant multinational corporations.

“The important changes that this world requires cannot be achieved without the challenges the people in this room are bringing. The challenging voice is essential to move forward and deal with issues of inequity, discrimination.” – said Hodge.

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KEYNOTE SPEAKER: H.E. Graca Machel

H.E. Graca Machel, above, the guest of honour and third keynote speaker at this year’s AMI, challenged delegates to come up with a template constituting standard requirements for transnational corporations proposing to mine in Africa.

Top among the list of requirements to ensure full and meaningful benefit for communities is the establishment of “Community Funds”. This idea is that mining companies taking resources out of a community should place some assets into a community fund. These Community Funds should have short and long term development plans. This will ensure that communities benefit from their natural heritage endowments.

The former South African First Lady, a strong human rights champion, particularly for the rights of women and children, argued that benefits had to go beyond royalties and tax revenues for governments. Communities, generally left out of the mineral benefit matrix, must receive meaningful benefits.

“We have to change the landscape of the mining industry on our continent,” Machel said, noting that the mode of exploitation of minerals by international mining companies has barely changed, a century after the scramble for Africa. Mining companies needed to know that it is no longer ‘business as usual’.

This calls for a revamp of antiquated legislation and other barriers that exclude poor and marginalized populations from a stake in their heritage. It is time each and every one of the estimated seven billion people in the world are positively impacted by the mineral wealth in their countries - instead of the reciting of figures, such as GDP growth.

“It’s not only about (economic) growth. It’s about people; it’s about development”, Machel told delegates. Her sentiments resonated with the AMI aspirations to secure a better deal for mining communities and workers.

In order to secure a better deal for the vast majority of the world’s citizenry civil society must prepare compelling arguments against the chicaneries of the huge transnational corporations, who have hundreds of years of experience in protecting their own interests.

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Machel was vehemently against current generations mortgaging future generations. Whatever package civil society, with governments and other institutions, secure for mining communities, it will have to be sustainable for generations to come.

For this to be achieved, citizens have to interrogate the mining agreements and concessions that their governments sign with international capital. Forums such as the AMI and civil society generally have a major role to play in raising community awareness of the implications of what governments are committing their current and future citizens to.

Therefore civil society must champion peoples’ right to know exactly what it is governments are doing with their national resources. The right to know implies increased pressure for transparency and accountability by both government and the private sector.

“It is our responsibility to make sure our governments are accountable to us,” said Machel. Mechanisms for accountability and for monitoring the compliance of mining companies have to be put in place, together with the template of standards for mining companies, for which she is advocating.

Machel urged delegates to ensure that the impact of advocacy programmes is measurable and that their advocacy efforts are smarter and more strategic, based on hard facts and data.

OUTCOMES OF SEVEN POLICY THEMES DELIBERATED DURING THE AMI 2015

Policy theme 1Environmental issues and community monitoring:

1. The following monitoring tools should be developed:

� Community based monitoring capacity

� Community impact assessments

� Community impact mapping tools

� Structures for collaboration between communities and human rights and environmental lawyers

� Audit tools to measure social, economic, cultural and environmental impacts of mining.

2. The AMI should create an interdisciplinary participatory structure that brings our struggles and resources together. This will allow us to be proactive rather than reactive regarding mining impacts. The structure would enable us to:

� Challenge legislative non-compliance and the impunity of mining corporations;

� Challenge the collusion between mining companies, government and political parties;

� Engage with legislative and regulatory processes;

� Continuously share experiences and skills;

� Address the imbalances of power by

X bringing power to communities

X bringing knowledge and information to communities

X bringing authority to communities

X Addressing gender issues in mining.

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3. The following notions must be challenged:

� The notion of consultation with communities must be replaced with negotiation with communities;

� The notion of free, prior and informed consent must be replaced with the notion of continuous free, prior, informed consent and the right to refuse;

� The notion of voluntary adherence must be replace it with compulsory adherence to environmental and human rights.

4. With regard to resource ownership we demand:

� The right of community ownership of natural resources above, on or under their land;

� Where mining is unavoidable and communities are relocated that they be compensated in accordance with the real value of the land. The value of the mineral resource under the land must be included in the value calculation;

� An end to land grabbing by mines;

� The criminal prosecution of mine managers and directors for negligence with regard to the health and safety of workers and near-mine communities and for environmental destruction.

Policy theme 2Artisanal and Small-scale mining (ASM) and land: 1. Artisanal mining should be decriminalised so that miners can be trained and safety standards maintained and so that

communities can be free of the oppression of criminal gangs.

2. A commission must be established to consider the question of artisanal mining in order to understand the challenges and to bring the activities of artisanal miners into mainstream protection and support of the state.

3. The commission should also consider how markets can be created for the sale of artisanal and small-scale mining minerals and for the purchase of chemicals such as mercury. This, to ensure the regulation of the sector and the protection of human and environmental health.

4. The commission should ensure that protections and safeguards are built into the legislation that decriminalises ASM and brings the sector under the protection of the state. Special attention must be paid to the intersections where women face violence, oppression and exploitation.

5. Legislation and policy should seek to build and encourage cooperative formations that assist ASM communities to thrive and to ensure safety and benefits for miners and communities.

6. ASM legal frameworks should be developed for both national and regional levels.

7. The policy process should include grassroots mining communities where ASM activities occur.

8. Legislation must be empowering for ASM and for the communities that depend on it for their livelihoods. Legislation must not be prohibitive especially where no other alternatives are available to communities living in poverty.

9. Legislation and policy should ensure that artisanal industrial beneficiation is funded and supported, to create industrial capacity at local levels that can serve as alternatives to mining for communities living in poverty.

As Civil Society we should seek to: � Build ASM resistance to violence, abuse, exploitation and oppression and support efforts to strengthen the agency of ASM

communities, especially women and children.

� Encourage self-organisation of ASM miners and communities especially women.

� Support the development of ASM guilds and associations to advocate for legislative changes.

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Policy theme 3 Extractive industries and women: 1. When women are organised and empowered they are able to struggle for change – women must therefore be supported to

organise, develop knowledge on their rights and deepen their self-esteem and confidence.

2. Women’s struggles against patriarchy are part of a wider struggle against capitalism and institutionalised racism. We cannot separate these struggles from one another. However, this does not mean that women don’t need safe, separate spaces to organise – such spaces need to be supported and protected.

3. Women must be supported through law, through practice and through the support of families and communities to break the barriers of exclusion and to engage with and influence all decisions that affect them.

4. Women’s struggles are setting a political agenda for transformation. We may call this feminism, or the sisterhood, but it is about women building and challenging the power of patriarchy, the power of an unjust economic system.

Policy theme 4Mining, health and labour: 1. The industry must ensure that the elimination of silicosis is incorporated into the Global Fund’s plans to fight and eliminate

Tuberculosis.

2. Sustainable monitoring systems must be development and implementation in all mining operations throughout the SADC region. The monitoring systems must be:

X Linked to production;

X Implemented and enforced independently from industry;

X Capable of adequate monitoring of exposures and health;

X Capable of adequate monitoring on a global and societal basis, so as to monitor the broader effects of mining on communities.

3. The Medical Bureau of Occupational Diseases and other bodies throughout the region charged with the administration of compensation for occupational lung disease, must fulfill their statutory obligations and requirements, including the obligation to provide detailed reports on the exposure of mineworkers to harmful toxins, which includes data on:

X What mineworkers are exposed to;

X The levels of exposure;

X How many mineworkers have been exposed?

4. All corporations involved in mining throughout the region should include details of dust monitoring and the mitigation of risk of exposure to dust on their mines, in their due diligence reports required in terms of the Ruggie Principles.

5. The SADC and the AU must harmonise the standards, regulations, policies and practices relating to occupational health and safety regionally.

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Policy theme 5Mining revenue governance: taxation and illicit financial flows: Noting that Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) are a global problem requiring global and political solutions, this session deliberated on:

a) the rent-seeking behavior of mining multinationals (MNCs) that seek to maximise profits and minimise losses

b) the weak role of the state in curbing Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) thereby giving leeway for MNCs to devise and employ various tax evasion and avoidance mechanisms to dodge their tax liabilities.

1. African governments should adopt country by country (CbC) reporting by requiring all mining multinationals (MNCs) to publicly report sales, profits and taxes paid in their audited annual reports and tax returns, in all jurisdictions where they operate.

2. African governments should adopt automatic Exchange of Tax Information (AETI) and collect data from financial institutions on the financial assets within their domain and automatically provide it to governments where the non-resident individual or entity beneficially controlling the structure is located.

3. African governments should require transparency of Beneficial Ownership (BO) where the beneficial ownership, control and accounts of companies, trusts and foundations should be available on public record in each jurisdiction. A beneficial owner must be defined as a natural person or publicly listed corporation, not a nominee or trust.

4. African governments should embrace international cooperation in curbing IFFs given that these are an African problem requiring a global solution.

5. African governments should review their fiscal policies domestically and regionally and remove tax incentives that erode their tax bases and promote tax competition.

Policy theme 6Initiatives promoting transparency and accountability: 1. We, civil society must strengthen our alliances, share information and coordinate across networks to achieve a common

message and voice on mining industry reforms.

2. Real-time disclosure of all project-level, mining-related permits, licenses and contracts in a public registry (hard-copy and online) must be implemented.

3. Real-time public disclosure of beneficial ownership of EI companies, including:

X Those entities providing services via government contracts;

X Beneficiaries of trusts

4. The public disclosure of all relevant contractual and fiscal terms relevant to EI projects to allow critical interrogation of the timing and magnitude of EI revenue flows.

5. Governments should adopt whistleblowing protections that incentivize and protect those who make public corruption and illegal government and corporate activities.

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Policy theme 7 Access to remedy: litigation and mining communities: Noting the following:

The term ‘Alternative Mining Indaba’ implies acceptance of mining as a predetermined development path. This undermines community agency;

Previous AMI’s criticised the lack of community participation in AMIs;

The NGO centric attendance at the AMI 2015 creates the risk of further accusations and dilution of purpose and impact of the AMI;

Further noting the wealth of community based experience and knowledge and the imperative to acknowledge community resources of land, customary law and minerals:

1. The organising, funding and supporting NGOs to the Alternative Mining Indaba should, under direction of communities, support community development indaba/s to run in mining-affected locations, with a focus on organising, development planning, achieving reparations and community defence strategies.

2. These Indaba/s should value local knowledge and processes and rely on cross learning between communities and not on expert NGO advice.

3. These Indabas shall complement and contribute to existing initiatives of community organisation and movement building.

4. These Indaba/s shall encourage community ongoing exchange between communities in the region.

5. These Indaba/s shall explore ways in which different strategies of community development and planning can complement one another, such as, direct action, litigation, advocacy and engagement in dispute resolution mechanisms. Resources to participate in these activities should also be explored.

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Delegate feedback/evaluation: On the final day of the AMI, the AMI Secretariat surveyed delegates about their experience. For those who had not completed their feedback forms, an opportunity was granted to complete the form online.

Overall, delegates agreed that the AMI was a success, particularly noting policy breakaway sessions; event logistics; management; panel discussions and representation as good.

Some comments from delegates are quoted below:When asked on what they liked best about the AMI:

“Opportunity to make valuable contacts”

“The Indaba seemed to focus a lot on challenges in South Africa, losing

sight that other countries in the region have serious challenges as well. There needs to be a balance”

“ Organisation and good quality presentations”

“Less Presentations and more discussion on fewer but more comprehensive topic issues”

“ The presentation of different case studies

from different countries”

“Facilitate greater participation or engagement between CSOs and

extractives sector representatives and government officials, strategize

for potential AMI panel at the Mining Indaba to reach better stakeholders”

“The wide variety of issues that were under

discussion”

“Let us have reports and follow up regarding issues raised in the

past declarations”

When asked on areas that the AMI can be improved:

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STEPS followING the AMI 2015

This year’s event was made possible through financial support from Oxfam America; Oxfam South Africa; Norwegian Church Aid; KAIROS; OSISA; Open Society Foundation, South Africa as well as from the delegates who sponsored their own participation.

The 6th AMI was organized by Economic Justice Network of the Fellowship of Christian Councils in Southern Africa and the AMI Steering Committee, with the assistance of an events manager and volunteers.

Dialogue between civil society and private sector on

12th February 2015.

Advocacy Strategy and Evaluation meeting on 13th

April 2015 in Johannesburg with members of the AMI Secretariat

and SC members.

The AMI Evaluation meeting took place in Johannesburg in April 2015 and planning has commenced for the 7th

Alternative Mining Indaba in Cape Town in 2016.

Strategic planning meeting from 3-4 July in Maputo, Mozambique.

National and Provincial Mining Indabas in Zimbabwe,

Zambia, Angola, Botswana, Mozambique and Malawi

from May to December 2015.

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6th AMI declaration/communiquéDECLARATION OF THE 6th ALTERNATIVE MINING INDABA

“MAKING NATURAL RESOURCES WORK FOR THE PEOPLE”11th February 2015, Cape Town, South Africa

Preamble:

We, the representatives of over 300 members of Civil Society Organisations; Faith Based Organisations, Pan-African Networks and Organisations, Labour Movements, media, international partners and Community Based Organisations, have met from 9th – 12th February, 2015, in Cape Town to share experiences and deliberate on the role and the impacts of extractives on communities, the environment, animal life and society at large.

This marks the 6th year of the Alternative Mining Indaba (AMI) which has grown from its modest 40 to over 300 international delegates, and in particular from Africa.

Cognisant of the failure to fulfill the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the subsequent efforts towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the post-2015 agenda, financing for development should remain a national obligation.

We are convinced that the capitalist system puts profits above people, and fails to sustain harmonious relations within society. The failure of African governments to fulfill regional instruments, including the Africa Mining Vision (AMV), is a demonstration of its weak governance.

We have further noted the flagrant violation of ethical and legal standards and believe that without principled, just and effective regulation of the extractive and related industries, people will remain impoverished.

We are cognisant of trade and investment policies that have had a negative impact on governments‟ ability to fulfill its development agenda and lift communities out of poverty. Governments have an opportunity – and duty – to ensure that natural resources benefit more people more widely and that companies operating in their respective countries are acting according to ethical and legal standards.

We call upon all African governments to commit to rising to the challenge set forth in our priority recommendations and make citizen-centred decisions about the investment of natural resources.

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1. Taxation and Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) 1.1 There is widespread consensus and evidence of the devastating impacts of illicit financial flows (IFFs), tax avoidance and

tax evasion on Africa’s ability to address its development and poverty challenges. There is therefore an urgent need for African governments, individually and collectively under the leadership of the AU to step up actions to stop the bleeding of resources from the continent. The launch of the high level panel (HLP) report on IFF in Africa led by former president Mr. Thabo Mbeki provides an opportunity for African governments, civil society and citizens to join hands and push for real transformative changes in the international financial architecture. We support the need for a global framework that enables enhanced domestic resource mobilization, clamping down on corporate tax malpractice and putting an end to illicit outflows of resources from the continent.

1.2 To realise the above, we call on the African Union (AU) and African governments:

1.2.1 To establish and situate a specific agency within the AU and its related processes as the leading African institutional space for dealing with Illicit financial flows and asserting its eminence and legitimacy in relation to other international bodies in order to play a greater and more active role within the G20 and OECD processes and not consider Africa’s role as passive.

1.2.2 To strengthen the role of regional and continental groupings such as RECs, UNECA and ATAF by putting in place adequate institutional and political mechanisms that ensure a clear vision, roadmap and action plan for the implementation of key measures to tackle illicit financial flows. Such mechanisms must ensure and protect the role for civil society and citizen’s participation.

1.2.3 To review their fiscal policies domestically and regionally and remove tax incentives that erodes their tax bases and promotes tax competition. African governments should learn from other regional experiences, where governments are willing and able to tackle IFFs through the use of innovative country specific anti-tax avoidance practices.

1.2.4 To send a clear and firm message to the international community and call for cooperation in stopping IFFs from Africa. Since this is not only an Africa problem, finding a solution to these challenges requires international cooperation and leadership to support Africa and not undermine the continent’s efforts.

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2. Transparency and Accountability 2.1 We call for the real-time disclosure of all project-level mining-related permits, licenses, compliance reports, monitoring results

(including air, water, waste and health) and contracts in a public registry available both online and as a hard copy.

2.2 We call for the public disclosure of all relevant contractual and fiscal terms relevant to EI projects to allow critical interrogation of the timing and magnitude of extractive industry revenue flows.

2.3 We call for the real-time public disclosure of beneficial ownership of Extractive Industries companies, including, those entities providing services via government contracts and beneficiaries of trusts.

2.4 We call on governments to adopt whistle blowing protection mechanisms that incentivise those who publicise corruption and illegal government and corporate activities.

3. Environmental rights and community monitoring 3.1 We call on governments to support mining community initiatives in tracking and assessing multi-national corporation

activities and mitigate the social, cultural and environmental impacts of those activities.

3.2 We call on governments and MNCs to negotiate with communities as opposed to consulting, since the latter is inadequate and diminishes our real rights to negotiate the use of our land and environment. Consultation fails to include the right to say NO.

3.3 We call for the adherence to the international law principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent as a continuous process, rather than a once-off practice and adequate government investment in environmental compliance and enforcement.

3.4 We call on government and MNCs to accept, that where mining is unavoidable and communities are relocated, that communities be compensated in accordance with the real value of the land, including the value of the mineral resource under the land and pecuniary rights.

3.5 We call for the rational and just utilisation of the land and the environment and an end to looting and land grabbing for foreign food production, mining and other forms of extractives. Where the environment and livelihoods are degraded or destroyed, these actions should lend itself to stringent recourse.

4. Access to Remedy: Litigation and Mining 4.1 We call on government to revoke mining licenses where there is non-compliance to Social and Labour Plans (SLPs) that have

been agreed to.

4.2 We call on government to give effect to the fact that SLPs and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are public documents which should be readily available to the public.

4.3 We call on government to ensure that SLPs are actually and effectively negotiated with communities and workers. We further call on an inclusive process with communities, as it pertains to EIA.

4.3 We call on government to strengthen judicial systems and to provide equal access to justice for mining communities.

4.4 We call on governments to provide adequate resources for human rights commissions to investigate; monitor and take action against human rights abuses in the extractives sector.

4.5 Cognisant of the extreme danger of climate change to Africa, where 200 million people are anticipated to perish this century because of droughts and floods, we demand a proper accounting, mitigation and compensation for the extremely high proportion of Africa’s greenhouse gas emissions that come directly and indirectly from mining and smelting.

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5. Artisanal mining 5.1 We call upon government to decriminalise artisanal mining, so that miners can be trained; safety standards can be maintained

and whole communities can be liberated from the oppression of criminal gangs.

5.2 With reference to 5.1, proactive measures must be found inter alia through the formation of a national Commission which will bring the activities of artisanal miners into the mainstream protection and support of the state.

In addition, this national Commission should:

5.2.1 Consider how markets for the sale of ASM mined minerals and for the purchase chemicals such as mercury, can be created to ensure the regulation of the sector and the protection of human and environmental health.

5.2.2 Pay special attention to the intersections where women are faced with violence, oppression and exploitation in order to ensure that protections and safeguards are built into the legislation which decriminalises ASM and brings the sector under the protection of the state.

5.2.3 Investigate what policy and laws must be enacted at both national and regional levels which will encourage cooperative formations that can help ASM communities to thrive together and ensure safety and benefits for miners and communities. ASM activities should also be part of the policy process at grassroots levels.

5.2.4 Legislation must be empowering for ASM and for the communities that depend on it for their livelihoods and must not be prohibitive especially where no other alternatives are available to communities living in poverty.

5.2.5 Legislation and Policy should ensure that Artisanal industrial beneficiation is funded and supported in order to create industrial capacity at local level that can serve as alternatives to mining for communities living in poverty.

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6. Women and Extractives 6.1 We call on government to ensure the equal inclusion of women in all decision-making processes that directly or indirectly

affect them.

6.2 We call on government to create adequate platforms for women to organise and that these platforms are protected.

6.3 We call on governments to amend mining and labour legislation to effect the gendered re-engineering of the workplace and ensure the enforcement of the law; particularly as it relates to women in the workplace.

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7. Mining, Health and Labour 7.1 We insist that the extractive industry accepts its responsibility for the health and safety of mine workers and communities

and to compensate those directly and indirectly impacted. This is especially important for those who have suffered from tuberculosis; silicosis and other mining related illnesses.

7.2 We call for the regulated development and implementation of sustainable monitoring systems in all mining operations throughout the African region. The monitoring systems must be:

7.2.1 linked to production;

7.2.2 implemented and enforced independently from industry;

7.2.3 capable of adequate monitoring of exposures and health;

7.2.4 Capable of adequate monitoring on a global and societal basis, so as to monitor the broader effects of mining on communities.

7.3 We call on the Medical Bureau of Occupational Diseases (and other bodies throughout the region charged with the administration of compensation for occupational lung disease) to fulfill their statutory obligations and requirements, including the obligation to provide detailed reports on the exposure of mineworkers to harmful toxins, which includes data on:

7.3.1 What mineworkers are exposed to;

7.3.2 The levels of exposure; and

7.3.3 How many mineworkers have been exposed?

7.4 We call on all corporations involved in mining throughout the region to include details of dust monitoring and the mitigation of risk of exposure to dust on their mines in their due diligence reports.

7.5 We call on the AU to harmonise the standards, regulations, policies and practices relating to occupational health and safety regionally.

We hereby affirm our commitment to the above stated issues and pledge our on-going support on the same with unflinching resolve. We are also committed to working together with governments, corporations, communities and other progressive forces to ensure that these demands are met.

Declared at the 6th Alternative Mining Indaba held in Cape Town, South Africa in February 2015 with participants from: Angola, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Cameron, Canada, Chad, Colombia, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, India, Ivory Coast , Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria and Norway, Republic of South Africa, Senegal , South Sudan , Swaziland , Sweden , Switzerland , Tanzania , Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

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ALTERNATIVE MINING INDABA

@AltMiningIndaba

CORRUPTION WATCH CONNECTED: http://corruptionwatchconnected.org/show/alternative-mining-indaba-woodstock-cape-town

TITLE: Official Report of the Alternative Mining Indaba 2015

AUTHOR: Itai Masuku And Johnlyn Tromp (Van Reenen)

DESIGN: SUN MeDIA Bloemfontein | [email protected]

CREDIT TO PHOTOGRAPHS: Liz Fletcher (Pomegranite)

Economic Justice Network of FOCCISAChurch House 1, Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town. Republic of South Africa. 8000.Network of FOCCISA:Website: www.ejn.org.za

EJN of FOCCISA is also Secretariat of the Alternative Mining Indaba

Documents

OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE 2015 - Alternative Mining Indabaaltminingindaba.co.za/.../2015/11/AMI-2015-Final-Report.pdf · 5 OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE 2015 ALTERNATIVE MINING INDABA DAY TWO